


Quadrilateral

by Rose Argent (roseargent)



Category: Magna Carta 2
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Open Relationships, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-20
Updated: 2012-12-20
Packaged: 2017-11-21 19:43:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/601396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseargent/pseuds/Rose%20Argent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peace--even a fragile peace--provides its own challenges for those who once lived for war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Zephie and Juto

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diabla616](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diabla616/gifts).



> This is set post-game, so it very definitely includes SPOILERS, and a fair amount of speculation concerning the new state of things.
> 
> Thank you for giving me the impetus I needed to write in this fantastic world. 
> 
> I really wanted to get both pairings you requested into the story--especially since I ship them too--but I'm not comfortable ignoring canon pairings in most circumstances, which meant fitting three pairings and four characters into the same story. Just when I thought my head would explode, I realised I could write it as three linked vignettes/scenes, and lo, this story was born. 
> 
> I really hope you like it!

Zephie sighed faintly, and Juto glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She shook her head minutely and Juto turned his attention back to the crowded throne room. No one had noticed their momentary communication but it would have been stranger if anyone had, at this point--they were almost as expert at secret signs and subtle movements now as Zephie and Rue were, and Rue had years of practice on Juto.

As another citizen whined piercingly at Zephie, Juto was momentarily jealous of Rue's more secret role in supporting Zephie's rule; Rue didn't have to stand here day in, day out, listening to the myriad complaints of seemingly every single person living in Lanzheim. Some of them brought legitimate requests that the Queen really could do something about but most were just here to vent their unhappiness at the state of the world, or to act as spies for the other nobles still bickering over the throne while Zephie did all the work. Every now and then someone would give Juto a second glance, peering into the partial shadow where he stood as if trying to see something of Elgar the Regicide in the curve of his jaw, or the shape of his nose. He smiled at them--more a baring of teeth than a real smile, but they never seemed to know the difference--and they looked away, sure that _that_ rumour, at least, was totally false. 

For all her determination and optimism, ruling was wearing on Zephie. They could all tell, but the rest of the former Counter-Sentinel unit saw it more clearly than Juto did, the weight loss and the increasing pallor of her skin more obvious when they saw her after being away for a week or two; Juto felt it more than saw it, the visible changes too slow and subtle to pick up when he saw her every day, but the bright feeling of "Zephie" in his chest was noticeably dimmer lately. Once, after a particularly trying day involving an assassination attempt Rue hadn't managed to ferret out in advance, Juto had felt his vision start to go dark around the edges as Zephie's kan stores dipped briefly below the point where they were enough to support two people. He hadn't told her, and he wouldn't unless it started happening on a regular basis, and then only because at that point he would no longer be an effective bodyguard.

The last thing Zephie needed was something else to worry about. Juto had discussed Zephie's exhaustion--though not its effect on him--with the rest of the inner circle, but no one had any solutions as of yet. Juto knew, too, that he was in some ways already another source of stress for Zephie. She tried so hard, was so very careful with her words around him, but every time she slipped and realised she was giving him orders he was unable to disobey, he saw the faint guilt in her eyes. He'd tried to explain that he trusted her, loved her, and believed that she would never give an order he would _want_ to refuse, but it was slow going convincing her that he'd long since made peace with having a Master, as long as that Master was her. That following her orders felt _good_ was something he was admittedly still conflicted about, and he was not quite ready to talk to her about that yet.

Someone towards the back of the room made a furtive movement and Juto let his hand drift to the hilt of his sword, almost hoping for a chance to actually do something useful. But whatever the lurking figure had been thinking about doing, apparently they changed their mind because a moment later Juto saw them shuffle out of the throne room, shoulders slumped. Probably another amateur who discovered that being angry at the Queen for changing the world didn't actually make it easy to look a living, breathing human being in the eye as you stick a knife in them. Rue was always on Juto's case to have that sort arrested _anyway_ , but Juto hadn't yet seen one come back for a second try once they got a look at how hard Zephie was trying to make this new world as livable as possible; the real threats were the nobles and the professionals they hired out of pure self-interest. On the other hand, he was definitely going to have to have yet another talk with the guards about searching every single person for weapons before letting them into the throne room, no matter how many people showed up.

Eventually the afternoon dragged to a close, and the dozens of people who hadn't managed to get in were sent home. At least they'd made _that_ much progress in getting Zephie to rest--public audiences ended on schedule, no matter what; if Zephie saw every individual who wanted to see her, she'd never do anything _but_ hold audiences. At least this way the people were slowly starting to realise that sending petitions through their local lords wasted a whole lot less of their time, even if it wasn't as satisfying as looking the "traitor who ruined the world" in the face. Crocell told Juto once that the way this was originally supposed to work was that public audiences were held one afternoon a month specifically for those issues that the local lords couldn't handle, usually because of bias or because the lords themselves were the problem. Everything else was handled on a local level, and only the most important items were presented to the Queen by her council. Zephie was holding public audiences twice that often, and still ten times as many people showed up as could be heard. 

Juto fell into place beside Zephie as she descended from the throne, saying nothing as her advisors clustered around her, waving papers that they insisted were Terribly Important. They probably were important, too, Zephie's advisors having a better grasp of the big picture than the average angry citizen did, but Juto found their demands grating anyway. Zephie had mostly stopped asking his advice on which matters to prioritise, because his answer inevitably involved threatening people into deciding that their project really wasn't that vital after all and they could definitely wait until a better time. Problem was that there never was "a better time," and wouldn't be for years--maybe decades--yet. Juto figured that if they all worked very, very hard and were very, very lucky, Lanzheim would be starting to prosper again sometime within their lifetimes and they'd get to die knowing they really, truly did the right thing.

Zephie signed a few of those papers on the fly, waving the others off until tomorrow morning's council session, and then they were through the doors into the smaller meeting room and Zephie's last official appointments of the day. Juto tuned out the chattering Avis--he got the importance of their inventions for Lanzheim's rebirth, but he always got a headache listening to Igton's apprentices enthuse about the technical details in those high-pitched, rapid-fire voices. 

The Mare representatives were up after the Avis and Juto listened to them as much as he could without diverting too much of his attention from keeping watch, because even though Celestine hadn't been able to come in person the Mare had plenty of news about how she was doing. She was on the site of the school for herbal medicine that Zephie was having built, which was apparently miraculously on schedule, if slightly over budget. At least that was one of the few projects that had gotten the attention of the nobility--they'd actually interrupted their scheming and arguing long enough to support it, so not all of the money was coming directly out of the royal treasury. 

The sun had been down for hours by the time the meetings ended, and Juto was deeply grateful when Zephie called for a dinner tray for the two of them instead of insisting on eating in the great hall with what passed for the court. Their private chambers were well-guarded enough that Juto could at least mostly go off-duty once they were inside, relaxing his vigilance enough to enjoy being with Zephie. She always seemed more at ease, too, the moment they crossed that threshold. 

Settling himself on the floor, Juto leaned against Zephie's legs a little, just taking a moment to just glory in being in physical contact with her. "Not a bad day," Juto said, finally dropping the Silent, Looming Bodyguard persona he wore for the public. "Right?" Granted, he had only been half-listening to most of what went on, more concerned with keeping an eye out for trouble, but even with the whiners at the afternoon audience Juto was pretty sure the good had outweighed the bad today. 

Zephie smiled at him, and Juto felt a rush of pleasure right down to his toes. "You're right. It wasn't a bad day at all." She nodded, half to Juto and half to herself, shaking off a bit more of the cloud that always seemed to hang over her these days.

Juto kissed the back of Zephie's hand, the marks of the Blood Pact flaring to life under his lips. "I bet we can even make it a _good_ day, if we try."

That got an actual laugh from Zephie, and Juto grinned up at her shamelessly. "I'm willing to try _very_ hard," he added.

And then dinner arrived, and Juto didn't know whether to curse the timing or lunge for the tray like a starving animal. He'd eaten lunch on the run, shadowing Zephie as she went from her morning meetings to the afternoon audience, and that had been... more hours ago than he really cared to think about. He could go a long time without eating if he had to, but that meant drawing entirely on Zephie's kan for fuel and he still _felt_ hungry. Fortunately, Zephie answered his dilemma for him by saying, "Food first." It wasn't quite an order, just close enough that Juto found himself tucking into the meal without a second thought. Bless the palace cooks for being willing to keep whatever weird hours their Queen kept, instead of just sending up a cold tray of whatever was lying around when Zephie called for dinner in their room. The food was always hot, tasty, and plentiful.

After they'd both eaten their fill--and never mind that it was barely more than half of what the cooks sent, because apparently they were trying to put meat back on Zephie's bones with sheer volume of food--Juto lapsed briefly into a doze, not even quite realising that he'd drifted halfway off to sleep until Zephie's voice startled him fully awake again. "Rue sent word that she'll be back sometime late tonight." 

Juto sat up a little straighter, looking at Zephie for any signs of concern. A late night return implied a certain urgency on Rue's part--had she found some vital piece of time-sensitive information?

Zephie smiled and shook her head, touching Juto's cheek lightly. "It's nothing serious. It's just that... I'm taking tomorrow afternoon off, you see."

Nothing Zephie could have said would have surprised Juto more. "Time off. You." 

"And you, too," Zephie added, a firmness in her voice making it more than a casual suggestion. "Rue will take over for you for the morning council session, and then I'm spending the afternoon with her." Juto's stomach did a surprised, nervous little flip that threatened to unseat the massive meal he'd just packed away. He certainly didn't begrudge Rue the time alone with Zephie--they'd been close for longer than he'd been alive, technically, and Rue was so often away gathering intelligence while he spent just about every day and night with Zephie--but he didn't really have any idea what to _do_ with a day off if he couldn't spend it with Zephie. It was funny, really. The loafer-Juto of Highwind Island would be appalled at the thought that someday he would no longer know how to just... do nothing in particular.

That was probably a sign that he really did need the day off almost as much as Zephie. Even if she was only actually taking a half-day.

Zephie was watching him closely, searching his face for some kind of reaction, and Juto shook himself, trying to lose the feeling he'd been hit with the Stun effect. "This is good. We do need this."

"You could spend the day with Crocell," Zephie suggested mildly. Too mildly. Juto gave her a suspicious look. "I think it would be good for you both." Juto could tell she was trying to lead him somewhere, but he couldn't figure out where. 

So he just asked flat out, "Zephie, where are you going with this?" 

"Crocell spends too much time alone. And you..." Zephie frowned, searching for the right words. 

She was right about Crocell, though, once Juto actually tried to think of the last time he'd seen Crocell for more than a moment or two. Since the situation in the capital had mostly stabilised, Crocell was so focused on getting the Reeden holdings rebuilt and finding what was left of his family's retainers and tenants that he was rarely in the city at all, usually only when he needed to get Zephie's approval on something he was doing.

Sighing, Zephie shrugged a little and finished, "And you're bored, aren't you?"

Juto blinked, wondering if Zephie was going to stop stunning him into silence at any point tonight. "Not... exactly." And it was true, he could never be completely bored when he got to spend time with Zephie. But...

"But the only time you get to _do_ anything is when something has gone terribly wrong." Zephie's tone was firmer again, more confident now that she'd narrowed in on the right way to say it. "Even when you train, you do it alone because most of the soldiers are afraid to spar with you. I'm grateful, truly, for having you by my side, but when things are going right your skills are completely wasted."

Sentinels were built for a purpose. Protecting Zephie was his--both by design and inclination--but fighting was what he was _good_ at, what he'd been custom-made to do. Juto felt his shoulders droop a little, and he sighed. He hadn't wanted Zephie to worry about him, and she had anyway. He was sure she didn't know the worst of it, if only because she was determined to pretend she wasn't worn out in the first place, but certainly she'd noticed some things he'd never meant her to. "I don't want to wish for things to go wrong..." But sometimes he did, like he had today when that guy had looked shifty at the afternoon audience.

Zephie kissed him lightly, and there was nothing but understanding in her eyes. "Crocell certainly isn't afraid of you. Spend some time with him, bring him back to us if you can, and do whatever you need to do." She took his face between her hands then, looking right into his eyes. " _Whatever_ you need to do." 

Juto felt the blood rush to his face, and knew he must be bright red. Zephie could read him like a _book_ , apparently. He'd definitely thought he'd kept his attraction to Crocell from her. If she was bringing it up like this, though, not only had he failed at that, but Crocell apparently felt the same way and was just as incapable of hiding it from Zephie. The damn runt had certainly hidden it from Juto, though. "Can't hide anything from you, I see. You're too smart for me." 

"Never forget it." Zephie kissed him again, and pulled him up onto the bed. "Now, I believe I was promised something earlier. The steel was in Zephie's voice again, and she smiled--if just a bit tentatively--as she gave him what was clearly, deliberately an _order_. "Put the tray outside the door and lock it, then come back here." 

A little thrill ran through Juto as the Blood Pact flared to life, and he shivered. Oh yes, his Master was too smart for him, _by far_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> re: Juto's kamond and sharing Zephie's kan. How Juto's kamond functions in the new world, with so much less ambient kan, is quite an unknown at the end of the game. Obviously it DOES work, but is it self-sustaining? I thought it might be interesting if it wasn't, though I really only touch on the topic briefly in this story.


	2. Crocell and Juto

It felt strange to be outdoors and yet not wearing armour. Juto hadn't quite been able to make himself leave his armour _behind_ , but the pieces were wrapped in a bundle that he could carry with one hand, and the lunch the palace cooks had packed was tied to the top of it. Even if it hadn't been at the bottom of the bundle, of course, Juto had no hope of getting into it in any kind of hurry--it was, effectively, a very heavy security blanket. He also had both a real two-hand sword and a blunt one-hand practice blade, and he suspected he looked rather more like a pack mule than a bodyguard at this point. By the time Juto made it to Ruhalt Basin, he was kind of regretting giving in to that knee-jerk desire to have his armour with him. It was _heavy_ , and the whole point in meeting Crocell in the middle of nowhere was that it was supposed to keep anyone other than Zephie's chosen messengers from interrupting their day off. 

"What, did you bring the whole armoury with you?" Crocell's tone was sarcastic, as always, but there was a warmth to it that Juto still found startling. Everyone had changed, in the years he'd been asleep, and though the changes were mostly all welcome ones they still tended to be a bit jarring.

"It's mostly our lunch, runt." Juto tossed the bundle--armour and lunch and all--to Crocell. It took a lot more effort than he would admit to to fling that much weight around one-handed, but the look on Crocell's face when the bundle hit him in the chest and knocked him right over was more than worth it. "The cooks packed us so much because they keep hoping that if they feed you, you'll actually grow taller." 

While Crocell was cursing him and shoving the armour-and-lunch bundle aside, Juto stuck his two-handed sword point-down in a looser patch of dirt, out of the way but close enough that he could make a grab for it if some particularly unfriendly wildlife showed up. The Belfort guards kept the Starlight Field pretty well clear these days, but their presence in Ruhalt was limited mostly to the areas closest to the Belfort and Dunan entrances. Further east on the Plateau the Bluemoon Trewa had things well in hand, as well, but this particular spot was still frequently the domain of monsters.

Crocell was back on his feet, and adjusting his knuckle guards. The way he was smiling--all teeth and the promise of mayhem--made Juto very, very glad that Crocell could no longer fling fireballs around with impunity. There was a very good reason Juto had chosen his quicker, more defensive fighting style for this sparring match--he had the reach of Crocell with either style, thanks to height and his weapon, but Crocell was _fast_ and reach would do Juto no good at all if Crocell was constantly getting inside his defenses. Crocell's close-range style still packed a serious punch, even without an abundance of fire kan boosting his strength, and he'd have better stamina without burning all his strength in a hurry using fire kan. "Ready for our playdate?"

Juto couldn't help but bare his teeth right back at Crocell, "More than ready. Let's see if you can keep up with me, little wizard."

The first hit went to Juto, using that extra reach to his benefit, but Crocell managed to dodge the follow-up strike and slide a punch past the edge of Juto's shield. He dodged enough to take it in the shoulder rather than the solar plexus, but the impact left his arm tingling all the way down to his fingertips. He'd be slower with the shield, now, but instead of making the predictable move to take advantage of that, Crocell struck at the other side. Juto got out of the way of that one in time, and returned with several quick blows, trying to get Crocell on the defensive. Sparks flew as Crocell used his metal wrist guards to deflect the sword strikes, but that also kept his hands busy. 

Neither of them succeeded in getting a good hit in on the other for a solid minute, as they each started getting back their feel for the other's style. They were hampered, too, by the need to avoid doing each other genuine harm; even a blunted blade could still break bones if Juto wasn't careful and a solid hit to the wrong part of the head or throat could definitely kill, and Crocell's punches could easily rupture vital organs and break ribs. 

Crocell was the first to get in a second hit, but it was another glancing blow to Juto's shield arm. Juto slipped his blade past Crocell's guard not long after that, landing a blow that would leave a spectacular stripe across Crocell's upper torso. "Country life must be making you _soft_ , Crocell."

"Says the pampered palace lapdog!" Crocell shot back, right as he nailed Juto solidly in the chin. Staggering back half a step, Juto still managed to catch the full force Crocell's next blow squarely on his shield. The shield took a nasty dent, but Crocell visibly winced and hopped back a step himself, shaking his abused hand a little. Only his gauntlets saved him from a broken hand. 

By unspoken agreement, they both took a moment to catch their breath, each sizing the other up with renewed interest. 

"You remember the first time we met?" Juto rolled his shoulder, trying to loosen up the stiffness of rapidly forming bruises. 

"Of course. I would have burned you to a crisp if the Princess hadn't knocked you on your ass before I got to you." Crocell's damaged knuckles popped loudly as he curled his hand back into a fist.

"Maybe." Or Juto would have gone berserk and ruined any hope of ever gaining the trust of the Counter-Sentinel Unit, but that wasn't an outcome he liked to think about too much. "But I've been wanting to do this ever since." With that as the cue to resume the bout, Juto leaped forward, surprising Crocell by striking with the pommel of his sword rather than the blade, catching him with an uppercut almost identical to the one that had knocked Juto back moments before. 

Crocell's lighter weight meant he fell back rather more than half a step, but he recovered so fast that Juto's sword carved a furrow in the dirt where Crocell had been only a moment before. Crocell seized the opportunity and punched Juto in the side, pulling the blow only enough that Juto's ribs groaned ominously instead of splintering like green wood. The air left Juto's lungs in an explosive gasp, and stars danced across his vision. Half-blind, going entirely on instinct, Juto got his shield into the path of Crocell's second blow, deflecting it away and putting Crocell off balance. Too close for any kind of decent sword strike, Juto followed through with the backswing of the shield, jamming it edge-first under Crocell's lower ribs. 

Juto recovered first, his stamina still better than Crocell's, but he used the extra few seconds to force air back into his lungs, rather than trying to stay on the attack. This second break lasted significantly longer than the first, and by the time Crocell staggered back to his feet Juto had realised that this bout was going to go to whoever landed the next hit. 

They circled each other warily for a few moments longer, buying yet more time to catch their breath, but it was Juto who moved first. Even as he finished the first movement of his attack, Juto knew he'd misjudged Crocell's speed by just a fraction of a second. His blade went skittering off Crocell's wrist guard again, deflected only enough that it scraped along Crocell's arm, bruising and drawing a thin line of blood, instead of connecting hard enough to numb the arm and leave him open for a shield bash.

Trying to get his shield up in time to block Crocell's inevitable counter, Juto saw a flicker of flames out of the corner of his eye. He had just long enough to blink, and then the heel of Crocell's hand hit him square in the chest and searing heat burned right through his shirt. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Crocell finished the blow, his fiery open palm making full contact with Juto's now-bared skin for just a moment before Juto staggered back, not stopping himself at half a step this time. Juto landed flat on his back, struggling to breathe and trying to process what just happened.

Crocell, meanwhile, sat down a little too quickly for it to be entirely deliberate, the flames around his hand winking out as he rested his forehead on his knees. 

Taking that as a sign that the fight was officially over, Juto closed his eyes and focused on getting his breathing back to normal. It took longer than he expected, largely because the sharp pain of the burn--no doubt perfectly palm-shaped--in the middle of his chest was exciting, almost pleasurable, in a way he'd almost forgotten about in these long months of peace. Tense, fragile peace, but peace. Eventually he got himself under control and opened his eyes to find Crocell looking at him with an unreadable expression. Whatever the look had meant, it vanished as soon as Crocell noticed Juto looking back at him, to be replaced with a sort of tired and mellow version of Crocell's usual smirk. 

"Does Zephie know you can do fire wizardry without kan crystals?" Juto wasn't about to tattle on his friend, but he was curious as to whether he was supposed to keep this a secret or not.

Crocell shook his head. "Not yet. I still can't do much more than light a candle. Offensively I'm good for about one shot, unassisted, and only at really close range."

And it probably wasn't something he could teach other people to do--Crocell had always been able to make the most of whatever kan was available to him in a way that most wizards couldn't. "So still no wings of flame, I take it." Juto laughed a little, though the memory of Crocell's wings was always both a little scary, and a lot exciting.

A wistful look passed over Crocell's face for a moment, but then he laughed, too. "Like I need that kind of power to kick your lazy ass."

"Ugh. I really do need more practice." Juto had no idea where Crocell was getting his combat practice--or how he was squeezing it into his schedule, for that matter--since he was a nobleman and by all rights should have just as hard a time as Juto did finding people willing to fight him seriously. Clearly, though, Crocell had learned more new tricks than Juto had.

Crocell made a disgusted noise. "Are those losers in the guard still wetting their pants every time you come around?"

Juto shrugged, then made a face at how quickly and thoroughly his shoulders had stiffened up. "I don't know if it's that, or if they just don't want anything to do with me." The general populace might be easy to throw off the scent, but too many of the former Southern and Northern forces had heard about his former identity from reliable sources, and they'd passed it on to the rest. He couldn't find willing sparring partners for the same reason he wasn't Captain of the Guard instead of Zephie's private bodyguard--the soldiers would _obey_ "Elgar the Regicide," but they'd always fear him and _never_ trust him.

"I _suppose_ I could come around Belfort more often. As a favour to the Princess. Can't have her bodyguard turning back into a weakling." Crocell's tone was lofty, but also playful enough that Juto smiled and laughed before jabbing a finger into his bruised ribs. 

"Right. You didn't have the slightest bit of fun today, it's all a favour to Zephie."

Crocell yelped, then scowled fiercely the moment after the undignified noise left his lips. Growling, he rolled over to sit on Juto, deliberately centering his weight right on the burn mark. "You are _such_ a jerk."

The jolt of renewed pain had a different effect on Juto than it did on Crocell, though, and this close up it was hard to hide his rather... distinctive... reaction. Juto coughed uncomfortably and looked away, but Crocell stayed right where he was. " _Iiinteresting_."

Juto looked back at Crocell, one eyebrow arched dubiously, only to find that Crocell was looking at him the way a nekoneko looks at fish. Apparently, Zephie gave Crocell the same speech she'd given Juto.

Sliding back so that he was straddling Juto's thighs instead of his chest, Crocell raised one hand, a tiny little flame flaring to life on one fingertip. "You were right, I'm definitely having fun on this... playdate."

Fear and desire in equal measure shivered down Juto's spine, and he reached up to grasp Crocell's wrist, drawing that fiery hand to his lips. The flame sizzled and went out as Juto took Crocell's finger into his mouth, but not before the heat burned his tongue. Releasing Crocell's hand, Juto grinned up at the fire wizard. "Let's see just how much more fun we can have."

Crocell shook off his moment of stunned immobility and matched Juto grin for grin. "Let's see if you can keep up with me, swordsman."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the second fade-to-black in a row, but I am just not good at porn. ^^;
> 
> As for Crocell's use of fire wizardry, well, in the game they mention a couple times that human wizardy did exist before Strass--it was just much rarer and much weaker, good for "little more than lighting a candle," or something to that effect. Crocell's Fire Tap ability should help him make the most of the limited kan, and it would certainly be to his benefit to learn to use it with his knuckle style, now that his fireball style is... impractical at best.


	3. Zephie and Rue

Zephie still wasn't sure that she approved of the palace cooks wasting so much food by constantly giving her three or four times as much as she could possibly eat when there were still thousands of people going hungry all over Lanzheim, but nothing she said seemed to get them to _stop_. They did, at least, assure her that any leftovers were given to the poor of Belfort, which seemed to be the best she was going to get. At least their stubborn, loving disobedience made sure she never started to feel like a tyrant. Today they seemed to think she was dining with the entire army, rather than just Rue, as they'd packed what looked like enough for ten people into the picnic basket. It was heavy enough to make her glad that she wasn't going as far as Juto was for her afternoon off--just to the edge of Starlight Field. 

Much as she would have liked the increased privacy of somewhere farther away, in a real emergency she did need to be accessible. Only a few select people knew where she was going, though, and she trusted them to leave her alone unless something truly dire happened. She just hoped she could trust _herself_ not to run back to work early.

Even after so long it was still hard for Zephie to rely on others too much. Not only was she Queen, with all that entailed, but she was the one most directly responsible for the current state of Lanzheim. While it hadn't been solely her decision to topple Strass and return the world to its natural state, it was still _because_ of her that they'd set out on that path. Making the new Lanzheim as safe and prosperous as she could was her duty, and the least she could do. But ultimately, what Juto had told her so long ago remained true--it wasn't her burden alone, and she needed to trust others to help her bear the load. She remembered that some days more than others. Today, just for one day, she was determined that she would put herself absolutely first, voice even the most selfish desire without guilt or shame.

Even though Zephie was early for their meeting, Rue was already there and waiting by the time she arrived. No doubt Rue had been scouting the area to make sure it was really safe, even though the guards cleared the Field of monsters on a regular basis. In some ways, Rue wasn't much better at leaning on others than Zephie was. 

"Rue!" Zephie shifted the weight of the picnic basket to one hand just long enough to wave to Rue.

Rue jogged over to meet her and took the basket with little apparent effort. Zephie almost sighed as she watched the muscles in Rue's arms flex, admiring the way they moved under her pale skin. People saw Rue's size first and assumed she was frail, but every time they were apart for more than a few days Zephie immediately forgot just how tiny Rue really was, Rue's strength making her seem larger in Zephie's memory. 

"Queen Rzephillda." Rue frowned, and Zephie braced herself. "You haven't been taking care of yourself at all. I'd hoped that once you were off the front lines I could worry a little less at leaving you for long periods, but you're always finding new ways to put yourself at risk. Really, what _is_ Juto thinking, letting you get this thin."

Then, much to Zephie's surprise, Rue smiled and waved her hands dismissively. "There. Scolding delivered. Shall we?" She hefted the picnic basket and strode off to a blanket that had already been laid down, and weighted at the corners with rocks.

Zephie smiled, too, and followed after Rue. It seemed like every time she saw Rue, Rue smiled a little more easily, joked a little more easily. It gave Zephie hope that what she'd planned for the afternoon stood a chance of succeeding.

Rue waited for Zephie to seat herself first, then folded herself down onto the blanket in that liquid graceful way Zephie had only ever seen Juto even come close to duplicating. Maybe it was something that came with learning the sword, and only Juto's bulk kept him from quite matching Rue. Rue started unpacking the picnic basket, her expression back to the stony neutrality that Zephie still thought of as her default, even if it really wasn't anymore. But as the food just kept coming, like the basket was somehow a bottomless well of food, Rue's expression slowly changed, first to something Zephie couldn't quite read and then ultimately to a kind of baffled amusement. "Are more people coming that I'm not aware of, Queen Rzephillda?"

Covering her mouth with one hand to stifle a laugh, Zephie shook her head. After a moment she got herself back under control. "No, of course not. But the palace cooks share your concern about my weight, apparently. They've been doing this kind of thing for months now." She did let out the laugh, then, at Rue's continuing look of dismay. "It won't go to waste, they've promised me that everything left over will be put to use feeding the poor."

Sobering, just for a moment, Zephie reluctantly addressed something Rue had said during her uncharacteristically brief scolding. "For the record, Juto also shares your concern. You really shouldn't assume the worst of him, not after everything..."

"I do know that." Rue sighed, shaking her head. "It's habit, I suppose. And that is the last I want to hear or say about him for at least an hour." 

Zephie laughed again, and wondered briefly how long it had been since she'd laughed so much in such a short period of time. Too long. "We should do our best to make inroads on this food, while it's at its freshest. I wanted to do the cooking myself, something really special, but I just couldn't find the time..."

That strange, unreadable expression flickered over Rue's face again, and was gone before Zephie could even begin to analyze it. "It's just as well. If you do their jobs for them too often, the palace cooks will feel that you don't trust them." 

"I suppose you're right. I do so enjoy cooking, though..." It was so hard, sometimes, to be subject to the rules and boundaries of her station again after being on the front lines for so long, surrounded by people who treated her with respect when she earned it, and took her to task when she needed it. Three and a half years should have been enough to adjust to being Queen Rzephillda instead of just the leader of the Counter-Sentinel Unit, but it wasn't. Maybe no amount of time would be.

"The cooks have done a very credible job, given the limitations of picnic food," Rue assured her, before taking another bite of her food.

Eating slowly and taking long breaks between servings, the two of them managed to eat more of the food than Zephie would have guessed possible. The luxury of just having a _leisurely_ meal was working wonders, apparently. Still, they hit their absolute limit long before the food was even half gone. "Ah, enough. I can't eat another bite, delicious as this all is."

"I don't think I can eat any more, either, really." 

While Rue packed the remains of the food back into the basket, Zephie leaned back against the rock wall and closed her eyes. The wind was gentle today, and Zephie enjoyed taking a moment to just bask in the feeling of it tickling her face and lifting her hair as it passed, carrying traces of everywhere it had been with it. She could never say so, having chosen this new world of her own free will, but truthfully she missed being able to feel the wind as a living thing, eager to follow her lead and flow where she willed it. Still, she was learning to love the wind as a thing outside of herself, a force she might not be able to control but that could still bring her ease and joy. 

When she opened her eyes, Zephie caught a brief glimpse of Rue giving her a gentle smile, a softer look than she'd ever seen on Rue's face before. "Rue, I'm glad we've got this time alone together. I've missed you."

"I've missed you, as well, Queen Rzephillda," Rue said, though it seemed almost as though the admission pained her, "But it was all for nothing if I let you come to harm now, and no one has yet proven to me that they can gather information as well as I can."

That Rue had even _tried_ looking for a replacement was news to Zephie, and it gave the seed of hope in her chest another little boost. She took Rue's hands in hers, and without any further warning pulled Rue close, and kissed her. 

It took five entire heartbeats for Rue to pull away and say, "Queen Rzephillda! This is _entirely_ inappropriate!"

"I know that!" There were already rumours enough about her and Juto. The official story was that he shared her chambers for security reasons, but no one was particularly convinced by that fiction. It was only due to their discretion around even the most trusted servants--they even made sure that Juto's bed in the outer chamber always looked as though it had been slept in--that the nobles who opposed her rule had no proof that they could use against her. If it came out that she was sleeping with her chief spy, as well... Zephie refused to think about the vile things her detractors would say. "I don't _care_. I will give my life, I will give anything for Lanzheim. Anything but loving freely." She would deal with the issue of heirs when it became necessary, but this one thing--these two people--Zephie _would_ have for her own. 

"Queen Rze...."

" _Zephie_. Please, Rue. After all these years, please, can't you grant me this? Or do you not...?" Zephie had been so sure that Rue felt the same, that it was only Rue's determination to guard her, to do what was right for her and for her rule, that kept that last barrier between them. But if not, if it had been only wishful thinking and royal arrogance convincing her... 

"As you have said, I am _exceptionally_ stubborn." Rue pulled her hands free of Zephie's, and Zephie squeezed her eyes shut against the inevitable. "But not, I think, so stubborn as to deny such a plea." Zephie felt Rue's hand on her cheek and opened her eyes again. Rue was smiling, and this time it was she who leaned in and initiated this kiss. 

That one lasted a good deal longer than five heartbeats.

When they finally parted again, Zephie gave Rue a little shove. "How _dare_ you give your Queen a scare like that!"

Rue laughed, then, wholeheartedly, unreservedly. "I suppose you could call it payback for all those scares you gave me back when you were a little hellion Princess."

"Nonsense." Zephie laughed, too, out of sheer release of tension. "That was the royal prerogative. This was just mean. You'll have to find a way to make it up to me."

"I suspect I can think of a few ways." Rue's smile had a touch of mischief to it for a moment, but then she leaned against Zephie and said nothing further. 

Wrapping her arms around Rue, Zephie closed her eyes once more and let the wind and the feel of Rue in her arms take away any thoughts of the future, or of hardships. They would weather whatever came, all of them, together.

-fin-


End file.
